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Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007
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1:33 pm - Very, very relaxed...
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I tried to get both text and photos into the same posting and everything got screwed up. How I managed to do it yesterday, I do not know. There are photos in the other post.
Mr. Spikefan and I have lolled around at our vacation cottage for several days, with short day trips getting put off until mid-afternoon. Yesterday
current mood: blissed out
current music: chickens still clucking
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| Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
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11:15 pm - more birthday wishes
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Happy birthday to the lovely marsterslady! Alley, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and everyone treats you like a queen.
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| Thursday, September 21st, 2006
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7:35 pm - birthday wishes
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First, before I explain why I was away so long, happy happy birthday to the royal anna--although it is offically a belated birthday wish as it's Sept. 21 here but Sept. 22 there in the UK. My best wishes in advance as to marsterslady whose birthday is on the 24th. One of these days I will relearn how to put a live link to other people's LJs (and all the other LJ stuff that has left my head), but it's beyond me at the moment. I hope to get over to Anna's and Ally's LJs to comment directly soon.
I've emailed some of you on my friends list (alas, I think I forgot a couple of people and I'm really sorry about that), but for anyone who comes across this, I'm back after a long recovery from a severe concussion. Oddly, it looked like it was nothing more than a terrific bruise, but after a day or so, I started to have trouble speaking and walking, horrible headaches, dizziness and all-around badness. It was like the worst combined drunkenness/hangover you can imagine. Anyway, I ended up taking a leave of absence for the entire school year (this happened last October) and my Internet activities dwindled as I had trouble reading the computer screen, let alone typing. I'm much, much better now, although I'm still having some mild memory problems and more-than-usual difficulty with organization. I will try to catch up when I can, but (not surprisingly) I have my hands full now that I have returned to school. Nevertheless, I'm back if only in a minimal way. I really missed all of you.
current mood:  tired
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| Sunday, June 19th, 2005
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10:35 am - Earthquakes and procrastination, not in that order
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I've been away from LJ for a couple of weeks due to a drop-dead date for turning in my dissertation proposal--the one I've been mentioning off and on here for months, with all the blown-off previous deadlines, lame excuses and horrendous procrastination. Hence, no reading of the flist and no comments on the entries of my LJ friends (assuming I still have some). It's not lack of interest. I miss you all. I promised myself, no LJ until the paper's done.
It's not done.
Yet here I am. I am using LJ to procrastinate further, proving there is nothing I'm not willing to do to avoid dealing with my proposal. Including writing to avoid writing.
In other news, a few days ago our building started creaking and swaying. Despite what my stomach had to say about it, swaying is good--it means the earthquake is a ways off. Aside from the instant exacerbation of paper-related stress, there was no harm done. It went on long enough, however, that I was thinking it was working its way up to a big one. Or The Big One, which has been on everyone's mind lately.
The rash of little earthquakes over the past week has done wonders for local retailers of batteries, bottled water, and "earthquake survival" kits. Typical kits include really expensive batteries, hideously expensive water in foil packets, a tiny folding stove (as if I'm going to cook after a disaster when I hardly cook in the best circumstances), chemical light sticks (in case you want to host a rave), mylar "space blankets" (useful if you want to give yourself a blistering sunburn) and blocks of inedible food-like substance. Our kit--which we bought a long time ago before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon--also has a combination compass, waterproof match container and a whistle loud enough to make your ears bleed. So we'll be able to find our way across the rubble, burn whatever's left (in case the earthquake insurance doesn't cover everything), and torment our fellow evacuees. I think I may have even stashed some Vicodin in case of injuries, but it would probably be more useful to barter for real food.
On the plus side, if we had a real earthquake, I'd probably get another extension on my proposal. Hmm.
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| Wednesday, March 30th, 2005
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7:58 pm - Come to the garden spot of the English-speaking world
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I am a sheep because when I can think of nothing else to say, I just swipe a meme I saw in someone else's LJ and that's my creative output for the day. Without further ado (much), here's my renaissance village. (Mind you, they did not give an option to locate it in the US or Canada, so going on the theme of former colonies, I rather arbitrarily chose Mother England.)
Those of you who got a job they don't much like may apply for another one. Please include a small gratuity with your application. Look on the bright side--at least the chance we'll all die of plague is pretty low for a mud pit.
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| Friday, March 25th, 2005
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2:29 pm - Fic destined for the Memories page
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A pox upon LJ and my own stupidity. I just wrote what I thought was a witty and captivating post (yeah, hubris, and it was long too), spell-checked it, then closed what I was thinking of as the spell-check window, thereby losing the entire update, complete with links and lj-cuts and all that time consuming HTML crap.
*shakes fist at Fate*
I will therefore spare you by giving you the shorter and less witty version of fics that should be on your Memories page. It's still long enough to merit an lj-cut. ( The Good: the talented Herself )
( The Bad: where are they now? )
( The Hilariously Ugly )
By the way, someone please explain the use of "eleventy" in parodied fic feedback, such as "OMG U R 2 funny!!!!111!!!eleventy!!!" All I know is that 111 = "eleventy-one". *is embarrassed*
OK, now I'm going to quit screwing around and get back to work.
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| Thursday, March 24th, 2005
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9:50 am - Unbelievable
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I just spent way too much time with a post that somehow vanished because I am an idiot and haven't had enough sleep. Let me get straight to the point in case I screw myself again. If you don't already have the lovely and talented treacle_a on your flist, or for whatever reason you haven't read her post-NFA fic, "Mortal Wounds", go read it at the earliest opportunity. You won't be disappointed (unless you ship Buffy/Immortal, in which case all I can say is WTF).
Here are the previous chapters of Mortal Wounds.
And here's the new Chapter 11.
Thanks to lillianmorgan for listing the fic she's currently reading on her LJ page, because that's where I was poking around when I originally found this one.
No questions, please, about why I'm here at LJ when I should be working on my increasingly annoying and much-delayed dissertation proposal. *feeling sheepish*
current mood:  chained to my computer
current music: The doves outside cooing and nesting
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| Sunday, March 20th, 2005
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5:05 pm - Procrastination fun
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The deadlines loom, Spikefan goes surfing the Internet and commenting on everyone's LJs. I offer a new gem from the Bad Poetry Generator, having given it a first line based on a current thorn in my ...side.
Who the hell used all the tampons? Not I!
they feel so much like pegs
things are not always as they appear
Alas, t'was for me to drink the whole keg.
Please remember that I only supplied the first line, which was bad enough.
current mood:  frisky
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12:26 pm - Lukewarm Money
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I’m watching James’ made for TV movie, "Cool Money". [It was still on when I wrote this part last night, then my wireless adapter had a problem and I was cast out of the online universe. *shudders* ] ( Read more... )
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, March 19th, 2005
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10:35 pm - Why I let a strange man twist me into a pretzel
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The "strange man" of the title is, of course, my chiropractor Dr. S. I have to say first that he's a great guy, and good at what he does. There have been times when my MD couldn't do a thing (aside from an overly-generous Vicodin prescription) and Dr. S got me back on my feet in a few visits. I just get highly skeptical when he says that spinal adjustments can relieve menstrual cramps and make uterine fibroids shrink. He also does this odd thing when he's adjusting my hips with waving his hands in the air over my torso in little slashing motions. I can't remember what the story was back when he first did it to me (or to my airspace, anyway), something about energy fields, but it had a seriously hocus-pocus vibe.
Much to my surprise, someone cancelled at the last minute yesterday, so I got in to see him an hour after I called. He did some truly frightening things to my back and neck, but I was in enough pain that anything seemed like an improvement. After a lot of clicking, crunching and popping, however, I dragged myself out of his office cursing myself for not seeing my MD first. Then, this morning, I woke up and realized I feeling a LOT better. Wow. What an incredible relief.
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| Friday, March 11th, 2005
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12:50 pm - Bad things and comfort
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I thought the whole "grad school is eating my brain" thing was bad. I've been working morning to late at night, buried under a pile of reading with writing about that reading still undone, and finding ever more ways to get distracted. The laundry and the dishes were (and still are) piling up, I hadn't had a haircut in months--if you don't count my disastrous attempt at trimming my own bangs, RL friends went uncalled, lunches were cancelled and I was completely out of touch with my LJ friends. OK, a litany of woes, all insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Then, a week ago, I found out that my cousin G., one of my few relatives here in California, had a stroke back in January, and his daughter S. (my age, also local) had kind of forgotten to let me know that he'd been in intensive care for weeks. (I found out because I called her.) It wasn't clear if he would know whether or not I was there if I visited, but I promised myself a visit after I did a marathon weekend of researching. Monday morning, his daughter called to tell me he had died a few hours earlier.
I know there are a number of things that could be said in the vein of "don't feel so bad, because--". ( Read on... )
current mood:  out of sorts
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| Saturday, February 26th, 2005
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8:03 pm - Another permutation of "Love's Bitch"
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I couldn't resist--it was just too weird to leave alone. Here's another riff on Spike's "love's bitch" soliloquy, edited a tiny bit by me for clarity. The kinky innuendo was already there.
Love's Bitch Revisited
I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it
She now knows I come from only the finest stock
Sit on it. Jump on it. Push it and prod it.
The door is ajar, and there's a squirrel in my sock.
I really think this screams for an NC-17 ficlet. Be sure to credit me and the Bad Poetry Generator. ;)
current mood:  oddly pleased with myself
current music: Stone Temple Pilots: Plush--not unlike LB Revisited
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4:15 pm - Procrastination sinks its ugly claws into me...
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| Wednesday, February 16th, 2005
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3:53 pm - Belated Valentine's Day
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*looks around neglected LJ, blows a few cobwebs off the update screen*
I'm back, at least for a moment. RL intervened yet again. I have a ton of flist catching up to do, so those of you who posted fic, lack of feedback from me is not a lack of appreciation. I see that there are several updates out there, so I'm eagerly anticipating a marathon reading ficfest. Maybe I'll even post my V-Day horror story (alas, not fic) if I'm feeling in a sufficiently evil mood. I think that will have to wait, though, as it seems like bad form to me to pop into LJ just long enough to indulge in an extended fit of pique. Let me just say --and I'm sure it's pushing my luck to put this in writing-- that there is a holiday and vacation jinx that plagues the Spikefan household with horrifying regularity.
Not to worry, however. Mr. Spikefan is out of the doghouse, I got to the ER in time (in a separate incident), and there may still be a romantic dinner in the near future. I hope for you, my friends, that you either had a lovely Valentine's Day with your sweetie, or that you stood in solidarity with those who proudly say "screw it"--whichever floats your boat.
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| Monday, January 31st, 2005
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12:59 pm - Rant: the Point Pleasant cheese gets riper...
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I know I gave a mini-rant in someone's comments recently, but PP deserves a more thorough rant.
What a relief to have others (such as fer1213) say they find Point Pleasant cheesy. My dear friend IBB, who is even more of a Buffy fanatic than I am, said that she liked it and she thought that, like BTVS, PP was going to need some time to "find its audience". So I wondered if I'd missed something and I tried to find something likable in it. I tried to view it as a guilty pleasure, or at least as laughably cheesy. Hey, I can appreciate irony as much as the next guy.
Alas, I couldn't get beyond the opening credits on last week's episode. It already looks like the kind of show that could use a shot in the arm from Heather Locklear. Ack. I know, I did compare it favorably to Tori Spelling's tour de force, Co-ed Call Girl, in my previous entry, but CECG makes Pauly Shore movies look brilliant. I wonder if the residents of the real Point Pleasant are embarrassed to have their name linked to this pile o' poo.
By the way, the symbol in Christina's eye? So like the thing on Damien's scalp in The Omen, except even her optometrist can see it. All she needs now is a pack of menacing black attack dogs to chase her enemies around.
A pox on Marti for delivering bad processed cheese-like substance. *shaking head*
current mood:  crabby
current music: The Smiths, still stuck in my head on an endless loop
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| Tuesday, January 25th, 2005
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12:25 pm - I had to hop on the meme train...
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This has been floating around, but I borrowed it from lillianmorgan--it was too funny to pass up. Besides, how could I resist a Spike quote?
So, who saw Point Pleasant, and what did you think? I missed the premiere, but I caught the second episode. My initial reaction was "Wow, cheeeee-seeey!", but I had to admit that it was oddly fascinating cheese. Then last night, I caught a few minutes of a made for TV movie called something like Coed Call Girl, starring Tori Spelling, and cheese was redefined. Coed Call Girl is Cheez Whiz and PP has been upgraded to a delectable brie with mushrooms with tiny toasted french bread and a lovely wine. Did I hear a rumor that Marti Noxon was thinking of asking James Marsters to do a guest spot on PP? On someone's LJ, I expressed a wish for JM to be cast as a priest on PP, but I should clarify that I meant one of those priests unclear on the concept of chastity, you know, except exclusively with grownups. I'm off to roll in the gutter now.
*swoon*
current mood:  naughty
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| Tuesday, January 18th, 2005
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4:57 am - Spikefan gets talkative
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It is silly of me to be up at this ungodly hour, but sleep has been eluding me. If I left a long comment about who-knows-what in your LJ in the past day or so, I hope I wasn't annoying or (worse) boring. Sometimes when it's late, I'm feeling talkative, and there's no one around to give me the "shut up please" look, I can go on forever.
Did anyone watch the Golden Globe awards Sunday night? I'm all giddy about Clive Owen winning Best Supporting Actor for "Closer". I've been waiting impatiently to see it, but haven't yet. Perhaps I shouldn't have swooned over Clive Owen in my husband's presence when we saw the trailer. The awards, however, have helped convince Mr. Spikefan that aside from the fact that it's about relationships and that I got all swoony, it's really not a "chick flick". (On the other hand, when I rent "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason", I'm pretty sure I'll be watching it by myself.)
[I deleted a bunch of babbling about who wore what, as it was making me sound even more fashion-illiterate than I am. Not to mention the "who gives a rat's ass?" factor.] Can I just say that Star Jones' gushing all over the stars on the red carpet actually managed to make me miss Joan Rivers? Bleah.
current mood: finally tired
current music: somebody's clunking heating unit that needs service
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| Monday, January 17th, 2005
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2:14 am - Spikefan peeks out from under the rock and decides it's safe to come out
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Finally I'm on my last day of antibiotics and I'm feeling relatively human again. The weather has been gorgeous here in sunny SoCal the past couple of days--it actually got up to the high 70's today, which was an unexpected treat after weeks of rain and cold weather. Mr. Spikefan is back from his business trip to Minneapolis, where it was zero F when he left on Thursday. He hates the cold so much that he waits in his hotel lobby for the traffic light to change, then goes dashing outside to cross the street. He gets to go back in February which is just cruel.
I had a lovely day on Saturday. I finally got to visit with my old friend Steve, whom I hadn't seen in over a year. We poked around Old Town Pasadena, had a wonderful lunch at an Italian sidewalk cafe, and talked until we were hoarse. Steve is also a BtVS fan, so I got to regale him with every tiny detail about my trip to the Oakland convention this past summer, including what it's like to hug James Marsters. (Yeah, I'm still all wriggly about that.) Then I went home and Mr. Spikefan, who'd had to work on Saturday, wanted to see "Ocean's 12" that evening, so off we went. Although the movie itself was a little disappointing compared to its predecessor, "Ocean's 11", it had been a long time since we'd been to a movie theater, so I was happy just to be in a big comfy seat smelling the funny movie popcorn smells and sipping from a "medium" diet Coke that was actually about the size of a hot tub. A very nice change from doctors, lab tests and pills.
current mood: thankful
current music: The Smiths, "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before"
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| Tuesday, January 11th, 2005
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12:44 pm - In which I peek out from under my rock again
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Thank you to those of you who braved my long rant about my recent health and who sent kind emails. The antibiotics are doing the job I paid them handsomely to do and I'm mending now. No more peeing orange highlighter marker ink.
I forgot to mention in my holiday thanks all of you who sent me Christmas cards.
*slaps self silly, then does the dance of belated gratitude*
I loved receiving them and I hope I remembered to send everyone a card that sent me an address. At least one of you received TWO cards because I couldn't recall if I'd sent one or not. I wish someone would make boxes of birthday cards the way they do for Christmas cards. I can never remember birthdays far enough ahead of time to go to the card shop, pick out an appropriate card (taking forever to decide), then remember to mail it on time. On the other hand, snailmail is getting rare enough that it's fun in a nostalgic way to get anything from the post office that isn't a bill or an ad.
Finally, after many days of pouring rain, we have a sunny day. I went around and opened the windows for some fresh air, and the indoor temperature can now be optimistically described as crisp. Sort of like frozen lettuce is crisp. This may sound like no surprise to anyone who has real winters, but temperatures below 55 F (13 C)in Southern California on a sunny winter afternoon are very rare. Brrrr. Slamming windows shut now and putting on a sweater.
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| Sunday, January 9th, 2005
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11:29 pm - I finally crawled out from under my rock...and crawled right back in
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A belated but very happy new year to all of my LJ friends and anyone stopping by. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/hootenanny. (With a little hoot and a lot of nanny.)
To my flist, I have to apologize for not being around at all for several weeks and hence not catching up before posting. I will catch up and read your fic or your family adventures since I last visited, all of you but especially Elisi (really I will; I noticed you looking studiously at your fingernails!). I have many thanks to offer so many people who sent me gifts; I was really overwhelmed with how sweet you all are. Thanks especially to the LJ angel who sent me a paid account (!) and the music angels who have sent lovely compilation CDs that I am enjoying immensely while I convalesce.
I have been dealing with piles o' health issues since I last popped in and that led to news best characterized as mixed: worrisome, potentially bad, very good and the mysterious hmm. I'm warning you ahead of time, I need to vent and it includes plenty of details you may not want to hear about (the word "endometrium" comes to mind), so here's the cut so you can decide to commiserate along with me or spare yourself the TMI.
( Read more... )
Yeah, way too much information. But that's what I was dealing with (along with my long-delayed dissertation proposal--still not done) and why you haven't seen me around. Too many things to deal with in Real Life and too little time for reading and commenting online, let alone actually posting.
So, you would think I get a chance to catch up and get back into school, which started last Thursday, but nooooo. I am now down with a kidney infection. My in-person friend IBB (for her online nickname), no stranger to medical care herself, has chastised me severely for letting it go so long, but I had no idea what was going on until I got hideously ill. One of the meds I'm taking makes my pee look like ink from a fluorescent orange highlighter marker, which is disconcerting, to say the least.
I will therefore have to put off catching up with you, my neglected and much-missed flist, yet again. I've actually been writing bits of this post for days, and tonight I had some sleepless time to finish it and get it posted, but I'm going back to bed now. Blah. Pray to the antibiotics gods for me that the nasty pills do their job SOON.
current mood:  sick and annoyed
current music: the incessant rain still pounding on my roof here in SoCal
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